Abstract

VILLALOBOS FERNANDEZ, Luis Andrés. EMG biofeedback for the treatment of crushing phantom limb pain: a three-case report. Clínica y Salud [online]. 2015, vol.26, n.2, pp.97-102. ISSN 2174-0550.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clysa.2014.12.002.

Phantom limb syndrome patients experience uncomfortable sensations corresponding to a previously amputated body part. This paper extensively evaluates three cases of patients with phantom limb pain that underwent a treatment based on electromyographic biofeedback. The study involved five men and one woman with upper limb amputation. Treatment consisted of ten sessions of EMG biofeedback, with a frequency of twice a week. In addition, beliefs about the phantom limb and its effects on everyday life were collected through semi-structured interviews about the attenuation of pain. Three participants who completed the study reported on the monitoring carried out two months after a reduction of 46.8% in the intensity of pain, and had been attenuated phantom sensation. In conclusion, we can say that the data obtained are promising, but further studies with a much larger sample and where a greater control of the variables is given are required.

Keywords : Biofeedback; Phantom limb; Pain; Neural plasticity; Psychobiology.

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